Ore-separator.



E. W. HOFFMAN.

ORE SEPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED un s, 1914.

1,094,566. Patented Apr.28, 1914.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co., WASHINGTON D. c.

E. W. HOFFMAN.

ORB SEPARATOR. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3, 1914.

1 094,566. Patented Apr. 28, 1914. 3SHEETS-SHEETZ.

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E. W. HOFFMAN.

ORE SEPARATOR. APPLmATION FILED JAN. 3, 1914.

1,094,566. Patented A ru 28, 1914.

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51mm E.W.HOFFMAN COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO.,WASHINOTON, D. C.

prunn s ra'rns PATENT OFFICE.-

ELMER W. HOFFMAN, OF JOPLIN, MISSOURI.

ORE-SEPARATOR.

noeasee.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I ELMER W. HOFFMAN, citizen of the United states, residing at J oplin, in the county of Jasper and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore-Separators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain improvements in ore separating machines and has particular reference to a machine of this character which is primarily designed for use in placer mining, the invention having for its primary object to provide means whereby the gold or other precious metal may be thoroughly separated from the sand, earth, gravel and other baser materials.

In its more specific aspect, the invention contemplates the provision of a quick silver bed and means for feeding the gold bearing placer material thereto, means for thoroughly agitating such material in the quick silver bed whereby the tailings or gangue is segregated from the precious material so that it will rise to the surface of the quick silver bed, and means for discharging the tailings from the machine.

The invention has for another important object to provide means which tends to prevent the rise of the placer material above the quick silver bed until the same has become thoroughly agitated and mixed wit-h the quick silver so that the proper separation is effected, and means for removing the accumulations of sand, dirt and gravel collecting upon said first named means and discharging the same into the quick silver bed.

It is a further object of the invention to produce a machine of the above character which is comparatively simple in its construction, highly efiicient and reliable in practical use and may be produced at small manufacturing cost,

With the-above and other objects in view as will become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in certain constructions, combinations and arrangements of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and claim.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation partly broken Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 3, 1914.

Patented Apr. 28, 1914:.

Serial No. 810,221.

away illustrating the preferred embodimentof the invention; Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a top plan view; Fig. i is a section taken on the line -4 1 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a detail section taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

In the. accompanying drawings I have illustrated one practical embodiment of my invention wherein- 5 designates the spaced uprights of a suit able frame structure which are connected at their upper ends by the bar 6. Upon this bar a frame casting 7 is rigidly secured. Said casting as well as the uprights 5 is provided with a suitable bearing 8 in which the transversely disposed shaft 9 is mounted. A band wheel 10 is fixed upon said shaft intermediate of its ends and a driving belt eX- tending from an engine or other suitable source of power is adapted to be engaged therewith. It will however, be understood that any preferred means may be employed for driving the shaft 9. From this shaft, the several operating parts of the machine to be later referred to are actuated.

In spaced relation to the uprights 5, bearing standards 11 and 12 are'arranged, said standards being connected and braced by the horizontal bar 13. Between the standard 11 and the frame uprights 5, a suitable housing indicated at 14L is arranged. This housing at one of its ends is provided with a feed hopper 15. A rotary screen 16 is arranged in the housing 14, the shaft 17 of said screen being mounted at one end upon the bearing standard 12 and having its other end journaled in a suitable bearing mounted upon a bracket arm 18 arranged between and fixed to the frame uprights 5. It will be noted that the screen 16 is longitudinally inclined downwardly from the feed hopper 15 to the opposite end of the boxing or housing 14:. The upper end of the screen 16 is preferably provided with an annular inwardly inclined flange or hood 19, which serves to prevent the material being thrown upwardly out of the hopper 15 in the rotation of the screen. At the lower end of the screen 16, the bolls ing 14: is equipped with a discharge spout 20. In the base or bottom of said housing a longitudinal trough 21 is formed. A spiral conveyer 22 is arranged in this trough, said conveyer being suitably secured upon the longitudinal shaft 28, which is journaled at one end in a bearing 24 secured upon the upper end of the standard 11. The opposite end of this shaft is mounted upon a supporting arm or bracket 25 which is suitably secured to the wall of a vertically disposed cylindrical casing 26 mounted adjacent to the lower end of the rotary screen 16. This latter end of the shaft 23 is provided with a gear 27 which is engaged by a similar gear 28 fixed upon a shaft 29 mounted in a suitable bearing 30 arranged upon one of the uprights 5. The shaft 29 is further provided with a beveled pinion 31 for engage ment with a similar pinion 32 secured upon the lower end of a vertical shaft 33. This shaft is mounted in suitable bearings 34 secured to the uprights 5. The upper end of the shaft 33 is geared to the driving shaft 9 as indicated at Upon said shaft intermediate of its ends, the beveled gear 36 is secured and engages a similar gear 37 secured upon the lower end of the screen shaft 17.

Between the vertical cylindrical casing 26 and one of the frame uprights 5, a conveyer casing 38 is mounted, said casing being provided with a suitable receiving hopper 39. In this casing the spiral conveyer 40 is arranged upon the transversely disposed shaft 41. This shaft is mounted in the frame uprights 5 and is provided with a beveled gear 42 which is also engaged with the gear 32 upon the lower end of the vertical shaft The hopper 39 is disposed contiguous to one end of the longitudinal spiral conveyer 22 and is adapted to receive the material therefrom as will be later described.

The upper end of the cylindrical casing 26 is secured to the frame casting 7. In this casting a vertical shaft 43 is journaled, said shaft extending downwardly into the casing 26 and being provided upon its lower end with a plurality of radially disposed blades or paddles 44. Vithin the casing 26 immediately below the blades 44, the curved or dished bottom wall 45 is secured. This wall supports the quick silver bed indicated at 46. Immediately above the wall 45 the interior of the casing 26 communicates with the conveyer casing 38. The outer end of the conveyer shaft 41 is mounted in a fluidtight stufiing box 41.

A horizontally disposed plate or shelf 47 is secured to the wall of the casing 26 and is disposed in close proximity to the upper surface of the quick silver bed. Upon the ver tical shaft 43, a spider 48 is secured, the arms of which are adapted to move over the upper surface of the shelf 47 in the rotation of said shaft. Above the spider 48, a spiral elevating blade 49 is secured to the shaft 43. At the upper end of the casing 26, the same is provided with a discharge trough 50.

The quick silver bed supporting wall 45 is equipped with a drain pipe which is provided with a valve as indicated at 51. By

means of this drain pipe, the gold and quick silver may be drawn off into a suitable receptacle 52 arranged beneath the same.

Having now described the construction and arrangement of the several parts of the invention, its operation will be understood as follows: The placer material which consists of dirt, sand and gravel intermixed with the gold or other precious metal is placed in the feed hopper l5 and is directed thereby into the upper end of the rotating screen 16. The smaller particles fall through the mesh of this screen into the trough 21 while the larger material passes out of the lower open end of the screen and is discharged through the spout 20. The liner material is conducted by the spiral conveyer 23 and dischar ed into the hopper 39. The transversely disposed conveyor 40 conveys this material into the casing 26 and discharges the same into the quick silver bed 46. This ore bearing material together with the quick silver is thoroughly agitated by the rotating blades 44 on the lower end of the shaft 43. The material is thus disintegrated and the heavier particles of gold or other metals fall to the bottom of the quick silver bed, while the lighter sand, gravel and other worthless material rise to the surface thereof. The particles of gold are amalgamated with the mercury and held thereby while the dirt and the lighter particles of foreign matter rise to the surface by the agitation of the mercury bed. This material when the same is first fed into the quick silver bed is held against upward movement by the plate or shelf 47 until it has become thoroughly mixed with the quick silver in the manner above explained.

Any material accumulating upon the shelf 47 is scraped therefrom back into the quick silver by the arms of the spider 48 so that said shelf is at all times kept clean and free from such accumulation. The waste material gradually increases in quantity until it is caught by the lower end of the spiral elevating blade 49, which carries the same upwardly and discharges it into the outlet spout 50. As is well known in the operation of such machines, the mercury or quick silver will adhere to and hold the gold and other heavier metals while the lighter waste material floats upon the top of the mercury body.

From the foregoing, it is believed that the construction manner of operation and several advantages of my improved ore separating machine will be clearly and fully understood. The invention is comparatively simple in its construction, and operates to effect a quick and thorough separation of the precious metal from the gangue or tailings.

It is of course, apparent that the machine may be made of any desired capacity and various mechanical modifications resorted to in the form, proportion and arrangement of the several elements employed, Without departing from the principle involved in any essential particular or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

1. In an ore separating machine, a mercury receptacle, means for feeding the ore bearing material to said receptacle, a plurality of rotary agitator blades in said receptacle, a horizontally disposed plate arranged above the mercury bed and preventing the immediate rise of the material as it is fed to the receptacle, and a member movable over said plate in close proximity thereto to remove material accumulating thereon and return the same to the mer cury bed.

2. In an ore separating machine, a mercury receptacle, means for feeding the ore bearing material to said receptacle, a vertical shaft, agitator blades fixed upon said shaft and operating in the mercury bed,

means disposed above the mercury bed contiguous to the feed inlet to prevent the im mediate rise of the material in the receptacle under the action of the agitator blades, a spider secured upon said shaft and moving in close proximity to saidlast named means to remove accumulations of material therefrom and return the same to the mercury bed, a spiral elevating blade secured upon said shaft above the spider to elevate and discharge the tailings, and means for rotating said shaft.

3. In an ore separating machine, a mercury receptacle, means for feeding the ore bearing material to said receptacle, a vertical shaft, agitator blades secured upon the lower end of said shaft and operating in the mercury bed, a stationary horizontally disposed plate arranged above the' mercury bed and projecting inwardly from the feed inlet to prevent the immediate rise of the material under the action of the agitator blades, a spider secured upon said shaft, the arms of said spider moving in close proximity to the upper surface of said plate to remove accumulations of material therefrom and return the same to the mercury bed, means secured upon said shaft and rotatable therewith to receive and discharge the tailings, and means for rotating said shaft.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

ELMER W. HOFFMAN.

Witnesses:

E. H. CuLLIsoN, W. E. SPIVA.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latents, Washington, D. G. 

